One Man & His Cars

The late Gianni Agnelli’s favorite cars went on show at the Museum of the Automobile in Turin, Italy, on March 12, which would have been his 92nd birthday, and will be on display until June 2. Agnelli, who died 10 years ago, was one of the two grandsons of Giovanni Agnelli, founder of the Fiat Group, and was instrumental in his company acquiring Ferrari after Ford failed to do so in the 1960s.

The cars range from a miniature T35-type Bugatti, which the future industrialist used to drive in the garden of his home at Villa Perosa in the hills outside Turin, to a Ferrari 360 Speedway, but he was a great fan of the Fiat Panda—the hyper-utility that was a huge success in Italy and of which he owned 11. He particularly liked the version called Mare (Sea in Italian), for which he had the roof group cut off and replaced by a sort of canvas surrey top. For his official engagements, he used often a 1997 Lancia K transformed into a limousine, with its American-style vinyl-covered roof, a car that was loaned to Queen Elizabeth II for her official visit to Italy in 2000.